The Bellevue Marshal's Office has found new evidence indicating that a Hailey man was indeed struck by a vehicle last week in the alley behind the Silver Dollar Saloon.
A story in the March 5 edition of the Idaho Mountain Express reported that the marshal's office was inclined to believe that the man, identified as 50-year-old Wayne Olson, slipped on ice in the alley. Though the incident remains under investigation, Marshal Ron Taylor said Friday that he is re-evaluating his earlier assessment.
The mishap was reported to the marshal's office on Sunday, March 2, at about 7:30 p.m. Taylor and his deputies checked an area where they believed the mishap occurred but could find no evidence indicating that Olson had been hit by a vehicle. However, Olson met with Taylor on Thursday and told him the accident was actually in a different location and Taylor found evidence corroborating Olson's report.
"I checked the area and there was evidence that he was possibly hit by a car," Taylor said. Also, the marshal said that Olson has a bruise on the left side of his back, which suggests he may have been hit by a side mirror rather than directly by the vehicle.
"Maybe the driver didn't even know he clipped him," Taylor said.
Olson contacted the Idaho Mountain Express last week and gave the following account of what happened:
"When I went into the Silver Dollar, I had a few beers. Then I left because I'd had my limit. I walked down the alley going south and this car hit me from behind. I have bruises on my back to prove it. I got stitches in my face. It just planted me on the ice and just kept going."
